“Local office is still too often overlooked at a time when it’s never mattered more. Jevin Hodge is an inspiring young leader stepping up to make his community better. He leads with his values and always seeks to be informed by both data and input from the community. I’m proud to endorse Jevin for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and am excited about what he will do in public service in the years to come.”– Pete Buttigieg
If every candidate had the snap of Arizona’s Jevin Hodge, I’d tell you to feel much more confident about the Democrats chances in November. There’d be a blue snow coming.
The guy has the authenticity we wish all politicians had, plus there’s a humanity, a sense of fun, and a joyfulness we haven’t seen much behind a politician’s microphone the last three years.
Jenvin’s also got the Pete Buttigieg seal of approval, which is enough to sell me twice over.
Former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill made popular the saying, “All politics is local.” It’s meant to suggest more than the obvious. True, the real meat and potatoes of governing this nation starts in our own backyards, but even more true: having your roots deeply planted right where you hope to govern has meaning to voters. Pete Buttigieg and Jevin Hodge can both tell you that.
And if you’re not completely up on what a County Board of Supervisors is responsible for, you can check out Jevin’s website which includes a handy refresher I’m including below:
The Board of Supervisors for Maricopa county fulfills the executive duties of Maricopa County in a legislative style. It has a budget of approximately $2.5 billion that must be used responsibly. The Board of Supervisors acts like a city council for all 4.5 million residents of Maricopa County. A County Supervisor does the following:
- Appoints judges and members of boards across the valley
- Passes legislation, such as tax bills and laws
- Approves major infrastructure projects, such as construction of roads and bridges and the expansion of public transportation
- Oversees elections along with the County Recorder
- Oversees law enforcement along with the Sheriff
- Oversees preschools, K-12 schools, and community colleges along with the Community College Governing Board and County Superintendent
- Oversees water usage along with the Water Conservation Board and may pass energy usage and environmental protection policies
- Oversees public hospitals and clinics along with the Special Health Care Board
- Works with cities, tribes, the state, and the federal government on major initiatives
- Oversees animal control, public libraries, and court services
- Employs 13,000+ people to provide these services to all residents
Jevin, you had me at “appoints judges.”
We’ve seen what happens the last three years when the wrong people make judicial appointee decisions for us. Many of those judges are in for life, issuing rulings that will reverberate through society for decades. And thanks to Maine Senator Susan Collins, there are more robe-wearing Trump supporters sitting on courts now than there are lined up at torch outlet stores.
I think we’ve all been woken up to the ugly fact that judges often get appointed to seats the majority of Americans don’t believe were earned by merit, or at least only by merit. At the Supreme Court level, the lasting effects are obvious. Drilling downward, it becomes murkier. But just consider this: today’s local judge appointed by the Maricopa Board could be appointed to a higher court tomorrow, and then another, and another, until one day they’re being grilled for the highest court in the land, and instead of demonstrating humility and proper respect, they guy-hassle Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Jevin Hodge is the youngest African-American elected official within the Democratic Party organization nationwide, and the first African-American Millennial to hold the position of vice chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party.
Jevin also serves as the Chair of the Booker T. Washington Child Development Center, and is the former President of the Tempe Union High Schools Education Foundation. His mother, Berdetta, was the first black woman elected in the City of Tempe as the President of the Tempe Union High School District Governing Board.
Jevin credits his mother with instilling in him the importance of public service, commitment, and tenacity:
“I grew up in a conservative area, very conservative state, with a black single mother who’s working her way to take care of her two black children. Being black, poor, and a single parent in America, in a conservative state, is a million times more difficult than being a Democrat trying to win a race.” – Jevin Hodge, AZ Central, April 2017
Jevin’s campaign emphasizes infrastructure, training the next generation of health care professionals, and education with specific support for trade and career training. He is endorsed by the National Organization for Women, Communication Workers for Arizona, Collective PAC, Run for Something, and, of course, Pete Buttigieg’s WinTheEra PAC
Jevin Hodge is a good man with the appropriate ambition, smarts, and the desire to make some useful noise in the political world and create goodwill and new possibilities for his constituents in Maricopa County. In a few years, we might be reading that he’s looking to do the same for all of Arizona (a swing state), or even the entire country. For now, it’s our job to help Jevin, and the many young men and women like him, get into office and make some changes that could re-define our daily conversations, and give us a reason to believe in good politicians again.
Jevin Hodge’s official Twitter
Jevin Hodge’s official Facebook
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